Breaking the sod

[bodi]

[chauncey]

Bob, I'm gonna guess that you took that shot in the New Philadelphia area...

Needs some contrast and...the rear ends of things does not make a good composition.

[bodi]

Chauncey,
Nope was taken in Indiana. As for the backside, Amish don't like their faces taken.

[Manfred M]

Amish don't like their faces took.

The trick is to not let them see you are taking their picture. I have some great shots of traditional Mennonites; they and the Amish have similar roots, but split into two separate factions. The Mennonite men are clean shaven and the Amish men have their big bushy beards.

If it were my image, I would do a fairly drastic crop; the sky does not add to your image, and losing a bit of the barn on the left isn't going to hurt either. My biggest issue with the image is that it is a bit soft; I suspect a touch of motion blur, rather than a miss on focus as the softness is through the whole shot.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[rpcrowe]

I cropped this, sharpened it a little and added additional contrast and structure. I also reduced the brightness of the barn a bit...



I suspect that if I had been working from the original (especially if the image was shot in RAW) that there would be less noise in the final image. However, even with the noise, I like this crop a bit better...

From what I have read, the Amish select technology in sort of a cafeteria style. I don't want that, I'll have a little of this and some more of that one over there. While I don't necessarily agree with that philosophy and prefer a less intrusive system. I am happy that they can follow their individual beliefs.. This shows the diversity of culture in our nation...

[Manfred M]

Nice one Richard; that's more or less what I had in mind. The only thing I might add would be a light vignette to draw the viewer's eyes in a bit more.

[rpcrowe]

Nice one Richard; that's more or less what I had in mind. The only thing I might add would be a light vignette to draw the viewer's eyes in a bit more.

Like this?

[Marie Hass]

Nice, Bob.

I like seeing the teams discing the soil. And seeing the working end of a horse does not bother me at all.

The Amish are very private people. I would hesitate to take frontal images unless I had permission. If they know you are more interested in their teams and their work, usually they will comply with the understanding that you do not photograph them direcly.

'Rie

[Manfred M]

Like this?

A bit too heavy duty for me. I tend to dial vignettes back so that they are not noticeable at first glance.

[moopy goops]

Manfred, i'm a little perturbed that you are actually advising taking candid shots of a group of people who activley avoid having their photos taken and haven't given their permission. You make it sound like they're doing their 'old world thing' for our pleasure and if we can sneak a secret shot we should. That makes me feel very uncomfortable. Perhaps I have got you wrong in which case I appologise but I think you should clarify.

The trick is to not let them see you are taking their picture. I have some great shots of traditional Mennonites; they and the Amish have similar roots, but split into two separate factions. The Mennonite men are clean shaven and the Amish men have their big bushy beards.

If it were my image, I would do a fairly drastic crop; the sky does not add to your image, and losing a bit of the barn on the left isn't going to hurt either. My biggest issue with the image is that it is a bit soft; I suspect a touch of motion blur, rather than a miss on focus as the softness is through the whole shot.